Total Economic Value of Maasai Mau, Trans Mara and Eastern Mau ...

8.0 ConclusionThis study estimated the total economic value of three forest blocks of the Mau ForestComplex. The total annual economic value of the three blocks is estimated at KES 17billion (US$ 238 million) spread throughout the economy with the direct use valuesaccounting for 12.4% of the value of the forest.The opportunity cost of changing forest into other land uses will lead to economic lossto the economy. Incentives must therefore be given to the community and capacitybuilding provided at all fronts and levels of forest conservation, especially for thecommunity to recognize the true economic value of forest conservation.The losses that would be experienced by changing the forests to commercial agricultureor to other vegetation forms could be up to two times, demonstrating that the values ofthe benefits of the forest are immense.Private benefits to households are significantly smaller than those which accrue to thewider society. There is need to influence the community to appreciate the benefits of theforests in order to encourage sustainable use of forest resources.The policies and legal instruments, though sectoral in nature, were found to beadequate for encouraging conservation and development of ecosystems forenvironmental services, especially the comprehensive Environmental and CoordinationAct (EMCA, 1999). The weakness of these instruments is their segregation into sectoralset ups that fail to deal with the holistic nature of ecosystem services. An integratedapproach to the management of the Mar River Basin forest blocks may need to beforged from the many institutions that are currently interested in the Mau ForestComplex.Responsibility for conserving the forest blocks should be commensurate with thepotential or actual benefits derived. Thus, the Government of Kenya should take thelead in investing in this activity and facilitating the transfer of part of the social benefitsthat accrue downstream to those that incur costs in undertaking conservations practicesalong the MRB. There are various incentives schemes that can be can be used to supportconservation measures. The three forest blocks can be used as a model project to testsuch schemes with the support of various instruments such as REDD+ among otherspecific international conventions given the national and regional significance of MauForest Complex. Benefit transfer, however, raises fundamental issues of ownership71